This may be a completely stupid question but it is something I have always wondered about and it involves heat and speed. So... would anything be gained by getting a chip that is a bit more than you will ever need and then underclocking it? Maybe chips have improved enough that something like this is not needed or maybe heat is just an issue in gaming computers (I am not a gamer unless you consider pinball). I'm thinking you could maybe get by with a smaller, quieter fan?
Anyway... I was wondering.

Thanks,

Julien

a chip that is a bit more than you will ever need

I paid over $600.00 for an 80286DX chip when it was more than I would ever need. How much do you plan to pay for yours?


I am frankly not a fan of overclocking to save money. By the time you have paid for an expensive cooling solution, and done the tweaking to get it to run, possibly voiding your (usually pretty much worthless) warranty in the process, to run a potentially less than fully stable system, you might better wait six months for the price drop on the next chip that runs at that speed out of the box.


One problem with the circuit shrink to run cooler theory is that the newer dies have gazillions more transistors on the die. The chip makers are putting more circuits (albeit smaller) on the same real estate, more or less eating up the savings in cooling by cramming more stuff on the chip.

Hi Guys, I decided on my parts for the build.

Gigabyte Z77X-UP5-TH
I7 3770k
G.Skill RipJawZ C9 1600 32 Gb
Notctua NH-D14 ( I have one in my sig setup and its great )

I am getting the build from Over Clockers uk and asked them if it was possible for a overclock to 4.5ghz but have been told due to the amount of ram I want in order to keep the system stable it will need to be 4.2

I am frankly not a fan of overclocking to save money. By the time you have paid for an expensive cooling solution, and done the tweaking to get it to run, possibly voiding your (usually pretty much worthless) warranty in the process, to run a potentially less than fully stable system, you might better wait six months for the price drop on the next chip that runs at that speed out of the box.

 
Yes, that is why I asked about underclocking to make it run cooler and still have all the power a person needs. I still wonder... I am really not sure if your response was to my question, since it didn't answer it, though you quoted from it... I don't get your point (which seems a little snide). It was a simple question that I do not know the answer to. I don't know much about the components of a computer and I didn't mean to offend anyone... 
 
J

You gain nothing by running a solid state part at less than design specs. Have you ever had a cpu fail because it was overused? Or for any other reason other than the CPU cooler fan failed? They do not for all practical purposes wear out at rated voltage. And if you could make it last a few years longer, why would you?

I was not trying to be snide. I was just offering an observation, that there is never going to be a way to future proof your machine. I have never installed a faster CPU in a computer to make it run new applications or old applications faster. By the time you need to change your CPU, it is because new technology comes along and your old CPU will not work with the new motherboard (which will not work with the old memory) that incorporates that new technology. 

I still have that 80286 machine out in the barn. It would still run a perfectly usable word processor. But by the time I got it to connect to the internet or accept a USB device, I would have to pay more in kludges than for a new machine. And the memory it would support would not run any currently supported web browser.

@ Jbow My personal thoughts would be go for a CPU that you would know you wont max out.

Silent Fans / Coolers are really not that expensive for one that will provide ample cooling for a CPU at stock speed or overclocked. For Example my Noctua comes in at around £50

The Reason I picked the 3770k and decided I will have it overclocked is that the company that I have ordered it from will be putting the CPU on the Mobo for me and they offer to do the overclock they also offer a 2 year warranty on the over clocked CPU.

I know a few guys who are using 3770s and have no need to overclock but I just feel I may as well do it :)

Thanks..
 
I have no idea what I want. I know I need something more in a computer but I will leave it to Mr. Roseberry. I would ertainly make a mess of things. I will be lucky to get it all loaded up into a new computer and running right, lol. I appreciate the answer, I am truy a computer dummy and I apologize for misunderstanding your tone.
 
Julien

Norrie


@ Jbow My personal thoughts would be go for a CPU that you would know you wont max out.

Silent Fans / Coolers are really not that expensive for one that will provide ample cooling for a CPU at stock speed or overclocked. For Example my Noctua comes in at around £50

The Reason I picked the 3770k and decided I will have it overclocked is that the company that I have ordered it from will be putting the CPU on the Mobo for me and they offer to do the overclock they also offer a 2 year warranty on the over clocked CPU.

I know a few guys who are using 3770s and have no need to overclock but I just feel I may as well do it :)

Sounds like a good build Norrie - you're going to love all that power!!

Thanks Jonesey !

I still need to decide on a PSU I was going to use the Corsair TX 650 that is in my build at the moment but thinking about it I am best to get a new PSU for the new build.

I have no idea how much power I will need for my set up or how to work it out

I aim to have Over Clockers do the build at the start of next week and should be a 3 - 4 day turn around ( if they have all the parts )

You should be able to calculate your PSU needs from the individual components.

FWIW, the one I'm using in my DAW is only 600W, yet my general Internet/Office machine is, I think, upwards of 750W